Eureka~
 

I LIKE TOO BAD IT'S A BUELL

The ergos aren't bad on the 675 but that's subjective to anyones size/frame of body. I'm 5'10" @ 220 lbs and I found it decently comfortable for a repli-racer. I rode it for over an hour on spirited riding.

To say it doesn't have any balls could just be the perception of the bikes linear power. There is no top end 'hit' like you feel on the inline4 600s simply because it makes its smooth power throughout the midrange and all the way til redline. So there is no distintive 'hit' you'd feel. More like a smooth linear rush just off idle. The dyno plots show this bike making more power and torque than the other inline4 600s in the middleweight class. during the hour riding I never noticed my bum getting hot at all from the exhaust.

Handling is (or was) just as sharp as any other competition. Why else did this bike get so many accolades and praises from comparison test and BOTY? now keep in mind your post was from last year and this years recent month article on the Supersport 600/middleweight comparison in Sportbike Rider didn't hold the Trumpet as well as it did from its first two years. However that's because there hasn't been any improvements to the bike unlike the rest of the competition. To say it will get shit over, even against todays bikes, is a wash IMHO.

Feeling small is a good thing. Go sit on any new 1000cc sportbike. Talk about small then compared to the power/weight/size ratios. ;). The 675 is a triple and therefore can be made to be much narrower and compact than the inline4's. 675 is a great track tool as that is primarily its focus, as with most repli-racers.

Love the Speed Triple!!!! It sucks they downplayed the suspension on the Street Triple but that's what happens when you cut corners to fit within a certain price bracket to appeal to other competitive models. Still a great bike though. I have yet to ride the Street Triple but plan to do so this year whenever I go back to the Triumph stealership.

As foir the 1125R, I love em. I just wished Buell could get their damn fuel mapping better as that is what seems to be the typical Buell shortcomings on tests with their bikes.

Just my opinions on these two bikes/topics.

To reply to my own quote, these threads and other reports got me pretty serious about the 1125r so I joined some of its forums last year and started keeping up with the new bike and its owners. Glad I did.

The bike's performance isn't suspect but it's quality of design and parts is. Sure, folks are always quick to post problems especially on a new bike but there are way, way too many for me. I think the final straw was a thread started by one owner who was having a moral problem with "unloading" his bike with several known problems on a new owner. YIKES!

Buell does seem to be working hard to fix things tho' and isn't being complacent. So kudo's to them but I decided I didn't want to be a beta tester and opted to go with my original plan and try to tame a 51 instead.

Yeah I've heard more of the same superbling. As shame too as Buell always seems to fall short someway or another. I'm pulling for the company because they make innovative products but they just seem to have their share of growing pains that seem to not improve over the years.

I've also heard HD dealerships around here turn their cheek to any Buell owner with problems or support :(. I guess those HD guys just have a hard time getting over themselves.

Sucks for the 1125R though. The Ducati 849 versus 1125R comparison wasn't that great from the mags IIRC. Shame really, as I like the 1125R and wouldn't mind one (of course problem-free ;) ).

1125R : on the right track...
 

I paid for the opportunity to ride these @ V.I.R. in Sept.'07, and felt it was a great bike.If I can go 130+ mph on the straight at this track, well ,there's gotta be somthing to it! I'm not a very skilled or experienced track rider, IMO. I thought , at the time, that Buell's R&D dept, seemed to have the bike fairly well engineered. But then again, I'm not an expert in that area either. BUT, I was able to ride the bike , at a similar pace , as most of the other folks riding the same bike on the track.I would definately say I'm only an intermediate rider at best,so it was the confidence inspiring bike,mostly.A stable, manuverable platform, with plenty of power.Buell had approx. 2 dozen of the bikes there for use in the many sessions occuring all day long, in epic conditions also, I should add.Everybody continuously flogged the bikes thru the day,and I don't believe there were any mechanical issues whatsoever.That should say something about the bike.Rode hard,all day,on a racetrack,by novices,and racers alike.The bikes were put to the test.It was a great "track day" experience. Well worth the $150. I paid for it, plus they gave out t-shirts, knee-pucks, awsome BBQ lunch, and even made leathers,helmets,boots,etc. available for "loan", if one needed them... Only 1 "squid" wadded a bike all day. It wasn't me, so I may still be in the market for one of these bikes , eventually...Don't count Buell out yet, HD just needs to let them be sold elsewhere,either stand-alone dealerships, or as a franchise to be added to other existing dealerships.Most Harley folks definately don't care about this type of rider segment.Put ME down for one of those types of dealerships,...;)